Russell Crowe's AACTAs speech cut short after he joked about 'sodomising' a female co-star

Russell Crowe shocked audience members at Wednesday night's Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards when he shared an unsavoury story about "sodomising" a female co-star.

The 53-year-old Hollywood star's comments stood out like a sore thumb after many of his colleagues used the ceremony to speak out against sexual misconduct in the entertainment industry.

As reported by The Guardian, while on stage presenting the AACTA Award for Best Asian Film, Crowe acknowledged the need for "sensitivity" in showbiz, however, attempted to joke about "sodomising Jacqueline McKenzie on the set of [his 1992 film] Romper Stomper".

Image: Getty

"I didn’t actually intend to do that – I was trying to keep my bits away from her bits, and she’s been given one of those pieces of elastic that the girls get when you do those scenes, which protects them from all things, and my bits and pieces were in a little canvas sack with a drawstring," Crowe said on stage at Sydney's Star Casino.

"And it was actually my desire to keep the bits apart," he continued. "It wasn’t until the opening night of the film that it was pointed out by none other than Jackie McKenzie’s beautiful late mother that we were in fact, in her mind, engaged in sodomy."

He added, "Anyway, that was just a story about sensitivity!"

According to the publication, the bizarre story was met with "muted laughs", and was cut from Channel 7's broadcast.

McKenzie came forward with her own story of sexual harassment last week and condemned the "bullying and bad behaviour" synonymous with the industry while walking the red carpet on Wednesday.

"The behaviour was ignored or swept under the rug," McKenzie wrote on Facebook, according to The Australian. "One response to a legal letter I did send — demanding an ­assurance I would be safe on set — was met by the producer saying: 'I can’t give this letter to him [an actor], he’ll go crazy'."

Crowe's comments come as veteran actor Geoffrey Rush stepped down as AACTAs president on Saturday, following allegations that he acted inappropriately during a Sydney Theatre Company production of King Lear in 2015.